A Special Report from the

New York State
Assembly
Committee on
State-Federal
Relations

Sheldon Silver, Speaker     Jeffrey Klein, Chairman     Summer 2001

Dear Friend:

Jeffrey Klein, Chair
Committee on State-Federal Relations

The 2000 Census:
A Guide To Understanding The Process

The Census Bureau has begun releasing results from The 2000 Census of the Population and Housing. State population counts were released in December 2000. In coming weeks, the Census Bureau will gradually release increasingly detailed information on population and housing units, income, and more.

Census data will include information for areas ranging from an individual block, i.e., the smallest territorial division for which the Census Bureau tabulates data, up to the entire country. Some files will contain individual-level information.

This newsletter provides a brief overview of the 2000 Census, a list of the types of products the Census Bureau will distribute, and the schedule of their release.

The last section depicts one of the major reasons the United States undergoes this mammoth process — figuring out how many representatives each state is allowed to have in Congress.

Content

In April 2000, all householders were asked to answer a limited number of questions about themselves, the persons living in the household, and their dwelling. The subjects included:

• Relationships in the household
• Race and Hispanic- or Latino-origin
• Sex
• Age
• Whether a housing unit is vacant or occupied
• Whether the home is owned or rented

A sample of one in six householders (approximately 17%) received a longer form, which included questions on the following additional subjects:

Population:

• Marital status
• Place of birth, citizenship, and year of entry
• School enrollment and educational attainment
• Ancestry
• Residence in 1995
• Language spoken at home and ability to speak English
• Veteran status
• Disability
• Grandparents as caregivers
• Labor force status
• Place of work and journey to work
• Occupation, industry, and class of worker
• Work status in 1999
• Income in 1999

Housing:

• Value of home or monthly rent paid
• Units in structure
• Year structure built
• Number of rooms and number of bedrooms
• Year moved into residence
• Plumbing and kitchen facilities
• Telephone service
• Vehicles available
• Heating fuel
• Farm residence
• Utilities, mortgage, and taxes
• Insurance and fuel costs

Thus, some population and housing statistics are based on total counts, while other statistics are based on the 17% sample.

Census Geography

For most products, the Census 2000 data will be summarized for various geographic divisions. Below are definitions of these divisions, listed from smallest to largest, with each higher level subsuming the lower level:

• Block — smallest unit, generally bounded by streets, legal boundaries, or other features;
• Block Group — collection of blocks within a census tract;
• Census Tract — small statistical county subdivision averaging about 4,000 residents;
• Minor Civil Division (MCD) or Census County Division (CCD) — legally defined county subdivision, such as towns and cities;
• County — primary division of most states; and,
• States.

The Census Bureau also uses other geographic divisions, such as "places" that do not follow the boundaries of the divisions listed above. Places may or may not have legally defined corporate limits within counties. The Bureau of the Census also uses the following divisions: American Indian/Alaska Native area and Hawaiian home lands; metropolitan areas; urban areas; voting districts; and, ZIP Code tabulation areas.

New Classifications

Racial and Ethnic Classifications

For Census 2000, each respondent was allowed to identify one or more races to indicate his or her racial identity. The Census adopted the following basic classifications:

• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian
• Black or African American
• Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
• White
• Some Other Race

In addition to describing one’s race using the above categories, all respondents were asked to identify their ethnic origin as either "Hispanic or Latino" or "Not Hispanic or Latino."

The Redistricting File released in March presents population counts broken down in 63 racial categories, including the six categories for those who reported only one race.

The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS)

To get a more accurate and detailed account of the kinds of jobs Americans have, the Census replaced the old Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) with a new classification system that recognizes 350 new industries in various sectors, such as fiber optic cable manufacturing in manufacturing, and warehouse clubs in retail trade. This will help provide a better picture of the changes in our economy.

Product Format

Census 2000 information will be disseminated primarily through a data retrieval system called the American Fact Finder, readily accessible on the Internet. The American Fact Finder will enable users, to a degree, to customize data products to their needs through tabulating, ordering, charting, and mapping. The data will also be accessible through other media, e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, and paper.

The most accessible data products will be in the form of tabulations, using the Demographic Profiles, Geographic Comparison Tables, or Quick Tables programs. These products will allow users to select and compare populations across demographic characteristics and geographic areas.

Users who want to create their own tables will be able to access the data from which the products above are created. Some of these data will be in files called Summary File 1 (SF1) through Summary File 4 (SF4), and Race and Hispanic or Latino Summary File. In addition, users will have access to micro-data, i.e., individual-level data, through the Public Use Micro-data Sample (PUMS) Files. (Important note: information that could help determine a respondent’s identity and address has been removed.)

Release Schedule

Lastly, a number of printed reports, maps, and geographic products (e.g., geographic boundary line files) will also be made available. Most data files will be released first on the Internet and subsequently in other formats. For easy access to all Census information, click on American Fact Finder on the Census Bureau’s homepage www.census.gov. Most files will be made available through the Internet, CD-ROM, and DVD. The major stages of the release are listed below.

Census 2000 Redistricting Summary File

Released in March 2001, this file provides the information required for redistricting. It contains tabulations for total population and the population ages 18 years and over for 63 race categories, Hispanic or Latino, and race by not Hispanic or Latino. Data are presented down to the block level.

Demographic Profile

Part of Summary File 1, this file was released in May 2001. It contains selected population characteristics in a single table.

Summary File 1 (SF1)

To be released from June 2001 to June 2002, this file presents counts and basic cross-tabulations of the following information collected for all people and housing units: age, sex, race, Hispanic- or Latino-origin, household relationships, and selected housing characteristics. For certain tabulations, data will be available down to the block level.

Summary File 2 (SF2)

To be released from September 2001 to July 2002, this file presents basic population housing characteristics, presented for detailed race and Hispanic- or Latino-origin groups. The information will be presented down to the census track level.

Summary File 3 (SF3)

To be released in June-September 2002, this file will present information collected on the sample basis. It will contain the socio-economic characteristics of the population. It will be provided down to the block group level or the census tract level, depending on the data tabulation. Data will also be tabulated for ZIP Codes and Congressional districts.

Summary File 4 (SF4)

To be released in October 2002-February 2003, this file will include tabulations of sample data for selected race, Hispanic- or Latino-origin, ethnic, or ancestry groups.

Public Use Micro-data Sample (PUMS) Files

A one-percent file and a five-percent file are scheduled for release in 2000 and 2003, respectively. They will contain individual-level information and will be available on CD-ROM.

Census 2000 Release Schedule

This year, on March 15, Assemblyman Bill Parment, Chair of the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, distributed an information packet to Assembly members which included population counts by Congressional and New York Senate and Assembly Districts. The information on this page complements that first release.

New York’s Resident Population
1790-2000

New York’s Congressional Representation
1789-2000

Resident Population
and Apportionment of
the U.S. House of
Representatives

New York

For Additional Information,
Contact:

Honorable Jeffrey Klein, Chair
New York State Assembly
Committee on State-Federal Relations
Room 637 Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12248
(518) 455-5844

Assembly Website: www.assembly.state.ny.us
Census Bureau Web site: www.census.gov